“Casey at the Hospice” [by James Cummins]

I want to turn on an
inside pitch.

I want to feel the ball
against my bat.

I want to feel a death
like that.

 

I read my daughters Cat In The Hat,

thought I was a good
dad; that was rich.

I want to turn on an
inside pitch.

 

I lost myself in husband
fat,

dreamed of dusty
diamonds, that old itch.

I want to feel a death
like that.

 

I’ve sat where the
players sat,

bitched where the
players bitch.

I want to turn on an
inside pitch.

 

The pitcher glares at
me, tugs his hat.

I want to knock him in a
ditch.

I want to feel a death
like that.

 

Somewhere, my swing has
lost its hitch.

Somewhere, my belly and
the land are flat.

I want to turn on an
inside pitch.

I want to feel a death
like that.

— James Cummins